EPIC 2019 International Privacy Champion Awards

At the Computers, Freedom, and Data Protection conference in Brussels, EPIC presented the 2019 Champion of Privacy awards to EDPS Giovanni Buitarelli and former EDRi director Joe McNAmee. Also pictured are Kristina Irion, Marc Rotenberg, Max Schrems, Shoshana Zuboff, and members of the EDPS staff.

EPIC joined 16 organizations in support of a “A Framework for Privacy Protection in the United States. The consumer framework states that the Federal Trade Commission has failed to enforce the orders it has established and calls for a U.S. data protection agency.

EPIC 2019

EPIC is on the front lines of the major privacy and civil liberties debates. In 2019, EPIC has important work to do on algorithmic transparency, facial recognition, data protection and democracy, among many other issues. Please donate to EPIC today to help us continue this important work.

Universal Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence

New developments in Artificial Intelligence are transforming the world, from science and industry to government administration and finance. The Universal Guidelines set out 12 principles to "inform and improve the design and use of AI. The Guidelines are intended to maximize the benefits of AI, to minimize the risk, and to ensure the protection of human rights."

Defend Privacy. Support EPIC.

EPIC is on the front lines of the major privacy and civil liberties debates. In 2019, EPIC will work to protect democratic institutions, promote algorithmic transparency, and defend the right to privacy. We need your support. And EPIC is a top-rated non-profit - Charity Navigator (Four Star) and Guidestar (Gold). Please donate to EPIC today.

Top News

A coalition of consumer groups sent a complaint to the FTC, charging that Facebook engaged in unfair and deceptive practices and violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act after court documents from a 2012 class action lawsuit revealed that Facebook encouraged children to make credit card purchases on Facebook's platform. Parents and minors repeatedly complained about the credit card charges, but the documents indicate that the company refused to refund charges and set up a complex complaint system to deter refund requests. EPIC helped enact the children online privacy law and regularly submitscomments to the FTC on children's privacy issues.

The Federal Aviation Administration has published an interim final rule that will require a visible registration number on the exterior of drones. Previously, registration numbers could be hidden inside drones. EPIC supported improved drone identification, but has urged the FAA to go much further. In extensive comments to the FAA, EPIC wrote that drones should broadcast location, course, and operator identification, much like the Automated Identification Systems for planes and boats. EPIC also sued the FAA to force the agency to establish national rules to limit drone surveillance. EPIC is currently pursuing records about a key FAA task force, trying to understand why the agency has not promoted better privacy safeguards in the US. Comments on the FAA rule on "External Marking Requirement for Small Unmanned Aircraft" are due March 15, 2019 (Docket: FAA-2018-1084). EPIC recommends that commentators ask the FAA to establish stronger requirements for remote identification of drones.

EPIC has asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to hold oral argument by April in EPIC v. Commerce, EPIC's expedited appeal to block the Census Bureau from collecting citizenship information in the 2020 Census. EPIC alleges that the Bureau failed to complete privacy impact assessments required by the E-Government Act before adding the question. A lower court denied EPIC's motion for a preliminary injunction, agreeing that the Bureau is required to conduct the detailed assessments, but oddly concluding that it is not required to do so "until the Bureau mails its first batch of Census questionnaires to the public"—a view entirely at odds with the relevant law. A federal court in New York recently blocked the citizenship question in a different case, but the Supreme Court will now review that decision. EPIC has filednumeroussuccessfullawsuits to require privacy impact assessments, including EPIC's case that led a now-defunct Presidential Commission to delete state voter data it unlawfully obtained. EPIC's appeal is captioned EPIC v. Commerce, No. 19-5031 (D.C. Cir.).